Editorials
Viewpoint
October 6,1994
For Ihc pasU 20 years siudcnts and faculty have asked, "Why is
the newspaper called The PendulumT’
Sure, ifs not the Daily Christian or the Elon Times, but. The
Pendulum couldn't have been a better name. The Smithsonian
Institute conucted The Pendulum recently because it wanted to call
its newsletter The Pendulum. The name must have been a good
choice if a museum in the nation's capital wants to use it.
The first adviser of the paper, Mary Ellen Pnestley, said that
Patsy Lynch, co-editor of the first issue, came up with The Pendu
lum. ,
Priestley said the students wanted to have an clement of time
tied into the name of the paper. And pendulums have something to
do with time.
However, that is not why The Pendulum is a perfect name for
the college newspaper.
Just like the pendulum on a clock, the content and attitudes of
The Pendulum swing left to right without stoppmg. Every year a
new batch of students spend countless hours writing articles,
drawing cartoons, designing advertisements and crafting editorials.
Some years the staff may be conservative. Other years it might
be liberal. One semester there might be a group of news reporters
and the following semester the staff may be a group of feature
writers. *
Over the past 20 years. The Pendulum has been a lot of differ
ent things to different people. To those who have worked on it. The
Pendulum has been an outlet for opinions, entertainment and most
of all, news.
Off The Record
"Race against race, such a foolish waste. It's like
cutting off your nose to spite your face."
- Beastie Boys
'The Update"
Pendulum
Informing the Elon College Communi^
Editor
Enck Gill
Managing ICdllor
Rob Mancuso
Auislant Managing
Editor
Amy Logerwell
A & E Editor
Chntly Eamhordl
Advertising
Michellc Rilcy
Senior Kcporltr
Mary Kelli Bndges
Keporters
Heather Anderson
Shannon Praler
Andrea Schinidl
Jon Campbell
JefTWmck
Sports Editor
Apnl Perkins
Opinion Editor
Scoit Miller
Photo Editor
Tonya Hubarl
Adviser
Joey Senai
Sports Reporters
Chuck Walker
Bob Gnmmie
Jeff Dunlop
The Pendulum,
founded in 1974, is
published by Elon
students.
Ilt's over. The South shall not rise
Single copies of The
Pendulum are free. If
extra copies are
needed, they can be
purchased at The
Pendulum office.
Office: 102 Lebanon
Ave., Elon College, N.C.,
27244. 584-2331.
A & E Reporter
Ctins Adams
Marne Blake
Illustrator
Brian Corrado
Graphic arlitl
Stacy Kummer
Noel McKenzie
As Yakov Smirnov once said in a
TV commercial in that wonder
fully warbling Russian voice of his.
“1 love this country!” There are
few other countries in the world
where one can be antagonistic as 1
am week in and week out and not
face any sort of censorship or threats
of physical harm. One has the right
to sit on a su-eet, with a 2.1 grade
point average and a bottle of South
ern Comfort in one hand, and show
the President of the United Slates
the middle digit of the other. I say
again.”What a country!”
However, there is one thing that
does bother me. There are certain
segments of our society that be
lieve they owe their allegiance to
their heritage first, and the United
States second. These people are so
caught up in their heritage that they
seem to try and advance their inter
ests by Ignoring scholarly work
which specifically refutes the basis
for their claims. They have delu
sions of grandeur about what their
forefathers have accomplished in
respect to advancement of human
society. Lastly, it bothers me that
they carry their morally bankrupt
ideals around with them like a badge
III of honor upon a fallen hero’s chest.
For those of you ready to read a
long litany against African Ameri
cans and how we should just be
white Americans and just black
Americans, go read Arts & Enter
tainment. The segment of society
that I am talking about is the pro
verbial Southern Gentleman.
You know the type... South
shoulda—coulda—woulda won
that dang war. If only Lee hadn’t
ordered the charge. If only every
battle was like Cold Harbor. If
Scott
Miller
only the South had won. we’d all be
so much better off.
Yeah, I’m fully aware of the First
Amendment. Even dumb things
can be said. (If only intellectuals
such as myself were a part of the
public discourse, it would get bor
ing really quickly.) It seems that
these “Southern Gentlemen” need
to practice some self-restraint.
As of now, the movement to
wards the far right is not that sig
nificant. It consists mainly of a few
dim-witted indivuals who are keep
ing their Confederate money in t
vain hope that someday they
be able to cash in. However, i
some demagogue is able to mo
lize the Republican Party farenou
in that direction so that he can ga
ner a presidential nomination,(t.j,
Pat Buchanan) we are in trouble.;
The people who carry, wear orj
display the Confederate battle lli|
insist that it is “hentage, not ha
that they are demonstrating,
just doesn’t wash. Every
march or right wing hate gro
consistently display s that very sy
bol. No one in Germany who us
a swastika is allowed to get aw^
with such a weak argument.
These same individuals adn
Robert E. Lee because of his gent!
manly qualities, or so they sa|
After all, they argue, Lee didn
own slaves or believe in slaver
True, but he was willing to breil
his oath to defend the United Statj
against enemies, foreign and
mestic, so that his privileged bretl
ren in the South could continue llv
"peculiar institution.” It is fine
study him in the same manner th
one might study Erwin Romn
the Nazi general, to learn froml
tactical prowess. However, the fe^
verish admiration that some hav(
of him is quite odd. Bradleo
MacArthur and Nimitz are alf
Southern military figures whodi^
not betray their God and countt
why not admire them?
At the Olympic hockey gan
the chant goes up, “U-S-A, U-S-
U-S-A” Not, “C-S-A, C-S-A, I
S-A.” This is the greatest natioj
upon God’s great earth. Let’s sic^
the divisiveness and solve son
problems.
Expect great expectations in life
Dane Frederiksen
Guest Columnist
We all know that life is short, too
I short. Life isn’t all good but I like
I It. 1 expect that most of us want to
lliveacomplete life, a good life. We
Idon’t want to waste it. So what do
I we do?
We all have our own strategy for
I life, even if that means no strategy.
I We have to make plans. If we
[didn’t we would eventually find
I ourselves without a home or a car
lor other basic needs. But when we
I plan out our lives we tend to forget
I how uncertain life is. People rarely
lend up where they thought that
I they would. Life has many roads
land we can never know which one
I we are on or where it leads.
Still, we are pretty sure that when
we go to bed we will get up in the
morning. If we didn’t we would be
back to life with no plan, no expec
tations. no hope. It would seem
that the best plan is to expect the
unexpected; to live your life as you
will but to be aware of the chaotic
nature of life.
So. now the unexpected is ex
pected. We can’t just live our lives
constantly looking behind our
backs, we can’t live like that. This
leads us to a moderate strategy. In
other words, don’t be firm in your
plans, yet, don’t make no plans at
all. Live for today, but within rea
son. We are all lost in the mix,
balancing.
Moderation seems the best policy
for life, not in all arenas at all times
but exercising moderation in matit
ration. There is a time and place for]
war and peace, and so on. Exces
and prudence are healthy qualitie
in moderation. This is logical bu
logic to has a time and place, and in]
moderation.
My point? Don’t freak when lifffi
kicks in and your plans are Iran
formed or obscured by an evet'^
changing reality. Expect it.
only way to survive is to mak
tentative plans, to be survivable
We have got to be able to handlc|
changes in our plans. In othe
words, plan for change. Expect lo|
live in moderation between things!
running smoothly and not goingl
the way you thought at all. This isj
common sense, but still somethingl
to consider.-